intermittent clutch slip ?

So does nobody have any suggestions as to what would cause an intermittent clutch-slipping problem in a clutch that's less than a year old in a 97 Legacy OB 5-speed ?

It SEEMS like it develops when the car has been driven awhile and goes away if it's parked a couple hours. The difference is pretty dramatic.

Thanks, John

Note of warning, I'm pretty clueless, but thought I'd add something:

Do you have the standard amount of pedal play? (as described in the manual) My 95 has a cable (yours is probably hydrolic) and I know every so often the cable need adjusting otherwise as the clutch slowly wears, it won't engage with enough force. You can tell because the pedal loses the 1" play. Maybe you don't need to do this with hydrolic clutch, but maybe there are other things that can break :-)

Anyhow, sounds consistent - clutch always slips a little, causing it to heat up and when it is hot, it will slip worse (like brake fade); it cools down and it will slip less.

First, check the clutch cable adjustment. Don't know what car and model you have but if it has a cable-in-tube style cable, then the tube could be worn out and be kind of grabby which sometimes makes it seem like the clutch is shuddering. The cables don't always wear out or break, but the tube can get shot.

It could be that the crank seal is piddling oil. Next time it happens, at a full stop at a stop light, ride the clutch in second to get going again. If there's oil on there, this will burn it off and the problem will disappear until some more oil piddles back on there. Use some rpms but don't go nuts and end up glazing the disc.

That said, if you're getting a slip and shudder AND it just happened to start after you put a new clutch in, the question would be did you use a new pressure plate along along with a new friction disc and was there any scoring or galling on the flywheel?

It's a 1997 Legacy Outback. Hydrualic clutch. Pedal freeplay seems right.

Ok, I'll try this.

A Subaru dealer did it, and of course I'll be chatting with him soon ! Also, it was done almost a year ago (less than 10K miles) and the problem did not appear until fairly recently. They definitely put in a new pressure plate (or charged for it), but not a flywheel. It also had the dreaded "shudder" problem right after they put it in, but the weather was warming and it kinda went awa so I decided to wait until THIS winter to take it back. Probably a mistake to not follow up sooner.

Thanks, John

I don't know if it's from the rear main or the tranny seal, but it sounds like fluid leaking on the clutch. How many miles on the car?

Sorry to hear that. My Toyota pickup recently had its clutch replaced, and that was also intermittent -- for more than a year, I got by with it, and still managed to take it in to get fixed without ever getting stranded (the only clutch failure I'd ever experienced before was sudden surprise, now-you're-stopped failure). But that clutch was old and not a surprise.

Is this an Impreza?

That's kinda my guess too. The front cam and/or crank seals started leaking like crazy recently - fortunately they were cheap to replace along with a nearly-due timing belt replacement.

The car has 93K miles.

John

I have had clutch problems with my recently purchased 99 Outback....engaging and disengaging low, sticking. Only happening in heavy usage. Ok after it has sat for a while. Had the fluid drained and replaced. Same problem still occured. I have now been advised that the problem is the clutch slave cylinder which is now being replaced. Hopefully this will fix the problem.

They didnt turn you clutch disk, it wore down your clutch. You need a new clutch. The reason it shudders is because they didnt turn the clutch disk. The reason its better when you havent driven it a while is because its still cool... once it warms up it starts to slip. Go to a reputable shop and have your work done there.

Rob

You don't turn a clutch disc (or pressure plate) - you throw them away and put in new parts. If you're thinking of the flywheel, then that can be turned if it shows severe galling or grooves. Sometimes it makes sense to put on a new flywheel.

I dont know why I was saying clutch disk. Flywheel it is. It needed turning. It has grooves and warps in it. He gave the exact and perfect description of it needing to be done. Down to a T.

Rob

OP here ... took my car into Subaru dealer who did the clutch replacement last year and they just called and said the adjustment was too tight. They adjusted it and claim all three problems (judder, slipping, tight pedal) are now gone. I'll believe it when I test drive it later today.

Thanks for all the advice, John